MEMORANDUM
To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Instructor ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC
From: Danisa Rambing, Student ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC
Date: October 29, 2021
Subject: 301 Formal Report Progress Report: Expansion of Financial Aid resources towards UBC Arts Undergraduate students for UBC’s VP Finance and Operations Portfolio (VPFO)
Please find this as an update to my progress on my formal report which has been posted to my writing team forum for viewing. Attached to this memo is a copy of the following document.
Purpose and Significance of Report
The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations for increasing financial assistance for UBC Arts undergraduate students. The significance is to provide a call to action for addressing the lack of financial aid Arts students receive at UBC.
Intended Audience
Peter Smailes, Vice-President of the UBC Finance and Operations. Mr. Smailes leads the UBC office of finance, treasury and risk management services across and will work with the VPFO portfolio to review the urgency of increasing financial assistance for Arts students.
Report Objectives
The purposes of this report are to:
- Raise awareness of the lack of financial assistance towards UBC Arts undergraduate students.
- Provide insights to the benefits of financial assistance and the rapidly increasing rate of inflation within the Lower Mainland Vancouver region.
- Provide feasible solutions to increase financial scholarships, bursaries and affirmative action for Arts undergraduate students.
Methods
Primary research and data collection will be done through surveying current UBC Arts undergraduate students and literature review of student-published news reports, AMS student government council minutes and the Consolidated Financial Statements produced by the UBC Vice President Finance and Operations Portfolio. Here is the link to the survey questions being used to research and gather data for this report.
Secondary sources will include surveying open source scholarly publications regarding the socio-economic implications of educational financial assistance and state-produced economic reports on inflation and poverty within Vancouver’s Lower Mainland (e.g. the British Columbia Financial and Economic Review 2020; the Vancouver Social Indicators Profile 2020)
Formal Report Outline
Here is the link to the outline for the formal report
Research Plan:
To fully analyze the urgency for increased financial resources for UBC Arts students, I plan to:
- Gather primary data sources
- Survey Arts students about their knowledge/demand for increased financial assistance from the university via 2020-onward student government council minutes
- Analyze incumbent and former AMS President and AMS VP Finance chairs’ running platforms concerning tuition and financial aid
- Conduct secondary research on the repercussions of insufficient financial assistance for university students
- Gather quantitative evidence of financial aid’s effects on university students and marginalized university students (e.g BIPOC, immigrant-status, international students)
- Collect data statistics and review trends of the increasing inflation on housing and living costs within Vancouver 2020-onward
- Gather information on potential recommendations through public source media outlets (e.g. student-produced news reports in The Ubyssey 2020-onward)
- Review cost-effective solutions that align with the VPFO Portfolio’s budget distribution
Writing Schedule:
The following is my writing schedule for the coming months:
- October 29: Formal report outline / progress report for formal report
- November 2: Conduct primary research on council minutes, budget statements and news reports
- November 4: Create initial report with research data
- November 16: Submit formal report draft
- November 19: Peer review formal report draft
- November 22: Peer review edits of formal report draft
- November 26: Complete formal report final
Thank you for reviewing the progress of my formal report. Please let me know if you require any questions or additional feedback for the progress of this report. I look forward to hearing back from you.
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